Ruud van Nistelrooy Biography
Ruud van Nistelrooy biography tells us that he is a former football player and current coach from the Netherlands.
He is currently managing PSV Eindhoven.
Widely regarded as one of the best strikers in football history, Van Nistelrooy has an impressive record of achievements.
He has been the top scorer in three different UEFA Champions League seasons and three different European domestic leagues.
He is also the sixth-highest goalscorer in the history of the UEFA Champions League, having scored 56 goals in the competition.
In 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100, which is a list of the greatest living football players in the world.
Van Nistelrooy started his career with Den Bosch before moving on to Heerenveen.
He later made his mark at PSV Eindhoven, where he won two Eredivisie titles.
His goal-scoring ability attracted the attention of Manchester United, and he joined the club in 2001 for a then-record British fee of £19 million.
During his time at United, Van Nistelrooy was successful, winning numerous titles and awards.
However, he fell out of favor towards the end of his time there and eventually joined Real Madrid in 2006, where he won two La Liga titles and the Supercopa de Espana.
He later played for Hamburger SV and Malaga before retiring from football in 2012.
Van Nistelrooy also represented the Netherlands on 70 occasions, scoring 35 goals.
He was part of the national squad for Euro 2004, the 2006 World Cup, and Euro 2008.
Everything to Know about Ruud van Nistelrooy
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Ruud van Nistelrooy Information
- Ruud van Nistelrooy Real Name: Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij
- Nickname: The Ruud Devil, Van The Man, Van Gol
- Profession: FormerFootballer, Current Manager
Physical Stats
- Height: 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
- Weight: 80 kg
Date of Birth and Personal Info
- Date of Birth: 1 July 1976 (age 46)
- Birth Place: Oss, Netherlands
- Nationality: Dutch
Football Information
- Current Team: PSV Eindhoven (head coach)
- Position: Former Striker
- Professional Debut: 1993
- All-time Club Appearances: 519
- All-time Club Goals: 327
- All-time Games Managed: 146
- All-time Games Won as Manager: 75
Club Career
Ruud van Nistelrooy life story lets us know that he was born in Oss, North Brabant, and started his football career at the age of 17 with the Dutch Eerste Divisie team Den Bosch.
He began as a central midfielder but was converted to a center-forward.
Prior to joining Den Bosch, he had played for local clubs Nooit Gedacht and RKSV Margriet.
In the 1996-97 season, he scored 12 goals in 31 games.
The following year, he transferred to Heerenveen for €360,000 and scored 13 goals in 31 matches during his only season with the club.
The next season, he was signed by PSV Eindhoven for a then-record transfer sum of €6.3 million between two Dutch teams.
During his time at PSV, Van Nistelrooy was highly successful.
He scored 31 goals in 34 matches, which was the highest season total in the Eredivisie and the second-highest in Europe overall.
He also scored all three of PSV’s goals in a Champions League match against HJK Helsinki on 25 November 1998.
In Ruud van Nistelrooy biography, we see that at the end of that year, he was awarded the Dutch Player of the Year award.
The following season, he won his second Eredivisie scoring title with 29 goals.
Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson was impressed with Van Nistelrooy’s performance.
In the summer of 2000, Van Nistelrooy was set to complete a club record £18.5 million transfer to Manchester United.
However, concerns about his fitness arose as he had not played for a month due to problems with his knee.
The press conference to unveil him was postponed, and the transfer was eventually canceled after PSV refused to agree to further medical tests.
Away From Football For a Whole Year
Unfortunately, the next day he suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate knee ligament during a training session, which left him injured for a year.
One year after the failed transfer to Manchester United, Van Nistelrooy passed his medical and signed a five-year contract with the club.
He expressed his gratitude to United for their £19 million investment in him and played in his debut match in the Charity Shield against Liverpool, scoring a goal in a 2-1 loss.
He made his Premier League debut against Fulham and helped United secure a 3-2 win by scoring two goals.
On 17 October, he scored his first Champions League goals in a 3-2 loss to Deportivo La Coruna.
In December, Van Nistelrooy scored his first Premier League hat-trick in a 6-1 win against Southampton.
In Ruud van Nistelrooy biography, In the FA Cup third-round tie against Aston Villa, he started on the bench due to a groin strain. Still, he was substituted in the second half and scored two goals in three minutes to help United win 3-2 and advance to the fourth round.
He finished his first season with 23 goals in 32 league games and broke the record for scoring in eight consecutive league games, previously shared by Mark Stein, Alan Shearer, and Thierry Henry.
He also scored ten Champions League goals and was named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year.
The following season, Van Nistelrooy was the top Premier League scorer with 25 goals in 34 games, including three hat-tricks against Newcastle United, Fulham, and Charlton Athletic.
He scored in each of the season’s final eight games, helping United win the title, and won the Premier League Player of the Season in 2003.
Impressing The Whole World at United
His impressive goal tally was described as “astonishing” and credited with spearheading United’s title win.
He also scored 12 Champions League goals in nine consecutive matches and was named by UEFA as the best striker in Europe.
At the start of the 2003-04 season, Van Nistelrooy made a strong impact by scoring two goals in his first two league matches.
This resulted in him setting a Premier League record by scoring in 10 consecutive league games.
However, this record was later broken in 2015 by Jamie Vardy, who scored in 11 consecutive matches.
Ruud van Nistelrooy biography says that Van Nistelrooy was involved in one of the most infamous incidents of the Arsenal-Manchester United rivalry during a 0-0 draw on 21 September 2003.
He missed a last-minute penalty that would have won the game for United and was then attacked by Martin Keown, leading to a brawl involving players from both sides.
As a result, five Arsenal players, including Keown, received bans and fines, and the club was fined £175,000.
In the following matches, Van Nistelrooy continued to score, with a hat-trick against Leicester City on 27 September and his 100th goal for the club in a dramatic 4-3 win over Everton on 7 February 2004.
He also played a crucial role in United’s FA Cup campaign, scoring twice in a derby against Manchester City and in the quarter-final against Fulham.
In the 2004 FA Cup Final against Millwall, he scored two goals, including a penalty, to secure United’s victory.
Van Nistelrooy’s start to the 2004-05 season was affected by injury, but he still managed to score eight goals in the Champions League.
Arguments with Ronaldo
He broke Denis Law’s club record for European goals with his 30th career goal in a 2-2 draw with Lyon on 15 September 2004.
Law was happy for Van Nistelrooy, saying that it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
In a match against Arsenal on 24 October, United won 2-0, with Van Nistelrooy scoring the opening goal from a penalty kick.
He was later banned for three games for a foul on Ashley Cole that the referee had missed.
On 3 November, he scored all four goals in a 4-1 win against Sparta Prague.
He also scored two goals in the FA Cup semi-final on 17 April 2005 in a 4-1 win against Newcastle, but United lost the final to Arsenal on penalties.
In the 2005-06 season, Van Nistelrooy scored in United’s first four Premier League games, finishing as the league’s second-highest scorer with 21 goals, behind Arsenal’s Thierry Henry.
However, he was benched for the League Cup Final against Wigan Athletic, which sparked rumors of a rift between him and manager Alex Ferguson.
Van Nistelrooy denied any such conflict, but he was left on the bench for six consecutive league matches.
Although he returned to the starting line-up and scored match-winners against West Ham United and Bolton Wanderers, there was still doubt over his future at United.
Ruud van Nistelrooy biography states that this was intensified when he was benched for United’s final match of the season against Charlton Athletic, with Ferguson claiming that Van Nistelrooy had left the stadium three hours before kick-off in anger.
On 9 May 2006, it was reported that Van Nistelrooy’s exclusion from the squad was due to a training session altercation with teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ending His Run at Manchester United
Van Nistelrooy had criticized Ronaldo’s tendency to hold onto the ball instead of passing to his teammates, which led to a fight.
He made a remark about Ronaldo’s father, who had passed away eight months earlier, which caused Ronaldo to break down in tears.
Van Nistelrooy later apologized to Ferguson for his behavior in the previous few months.
Van Nistelrooy left Manchester United and signed with Real Madrid on 28 July 2006, bringing an end to his five-year stint at Old Trafford.
He had scored a total of 150 goals in 219 appearances for United, and his last goal for the club was against Bolton, which proved to be the winning goal.
He is also the club’s second-highest European goalscorer with 38 goals, behind Wayne Rooney.
In July 2006, Ferguson confirmed that Van Nistelrooy wanted to leave Manchester United, and two weeks later, Real Madrid announced that they had signed him for €14 million on a three-year contract.
Van Nistelrooy made his debut for Real Madrid on 4 August 2006 in a friendly match against Reggina, which they won 1-0.
He scored a hat-trick in his second league match against Levante and then scored all four of Real Madrid’s goals in a 4-1 victory over Osasuna on 12 November 2006.
In Ruud van Nistelrooy biography, we read that Van Nistelrooy regarded Ronaldo as the best player he had ever played with, and for the first six months at Real Madrid, the two were teammates.
He won the Pichichi award in the 2006-07 season with 25 goals as Real Madrid claimed the league title.
He also equaled the longest consecutive scoring streak in La Liga history by scoring in seven consecutive matches, which tied the record held by Hugo Sanchez.
Injuries Becoming Problematic
In January 2008, Van Nistelrooy extended his contract with Real Madrid until 2010, one day shy of his 34th birthday.
He underwent ankle surgery in March of that year. The striker made his comeback in the El Clasico derby against Barcelona on 7 May, scoring a penalty two minutes after coming on as a substitute.
He finished the season with 20 goals in 33 appearances for Real Madrid.
Real Madrid announced in November 2008 that Van Nistelrooy would miss the rest of the 2008-2009 season after undergoing exploratory arthroscopic surgery, which revealed a partially torn meniscus in his right knee.
Ruud van Nistelrooy biography reveals that he traveled to the US to seek help from specialist Richard Steadman, who had previously operated on his knee back in 2000.
At the time of his injury, he had ten goals in 12 appearances for the season.
After his injury, he was removed from the Real Madrid squad for the remainder of the season, and his shirt number was given to Dani Parejo.
Van Nistelrooy returned to action on 24 August 2009 in a pre-season match against Rosenborg, where he played the final 15 minutes of the game.
He made his first appearance in La Liga since recovering from his injury, replacing Cristiano Ronaldo in the 80th minute against Xerez.
He assisted Karim Benzema’s goal in the 81st minute and scored one himself in the 88th minute.
However, during the goal celebration, he picked up a thigh injury, and Real Madrid later confirmed that he would be out of action for up to six weeks.
Leaving La Liga
Van Nistelrooy made his second comeback of the season on 27 October, coming on as a substitute for Raul in the 71st minute against Alcorcon in the Copa del Rey.
He signed an 18-month contract with the German club Hamburger SV until June 2011 on 23 January 2010.
On 6 February, he made his first appearance for the club, coming off the bench in the last two minutes of a 3-3 draw with 1. FC Koln.
Van Nistelrooy scored his first two goals for Hamburg on 13 February 2010 against VfB Stuttgart, coming off the bench to score in the 75th and 77th minutes in a 3-1 win.
He scored his first UEFA Europa League goal for the club on 11 March 2010, in the 40th minute of a match against Anderlecht.
Nistelrooy scored his only competitive hat-trick with Hamburg on 15 August 2010 in a 5-1 victory over Torgelower SV Greif in the first round of the 2010-11 DFB-Pokal.
He followed this up with a brace in Hamburg’s season opener against Schalke 04 on 21 August 2010, which they won 2-1.
During the match, Van Nistelrooy played against his friend and former teammate at Real Madrid, Raul, who was making his Bundesliga debut.
Ruud van Nistelrooy biography shows that in the January transfer window, Van Nistelrooy was linked with a move back to Real Madrid to cover for injuries to Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema.
Jose Mourinho, the manager at the time, was happy to bring Van Nistelrooy back to the club, but the move was rejected by Hamburg, who wanted to keep hold of him until the transfer window closed.
Retirement
Although the rejection angered Van Nistelrooy, he remained committed to Hamburg.
Van Nistelrooy scored seven goals and provided two assists in 25 appearances during his only full season with Hamburg.
He then returned to Spain, signing a one-year deal with La Liga side Malaga on a free transfer on 1 June 2011.
Van Nistelrooy was presented to 15,000 Malaga fans at La Rosaleda Stadium and made his debut in a 2-1 loss against Sevilla in the opening game of the 2011-12 season.
He scored his first goal for Malaga on 1 October 2011 against Getafe and opened the scoring against the same club on 21 December in the Copa del Rey.
In Ruud van Nistelrooy biography, Van Nistelrooy scored two more goals in the league against Espanyol and Racing Santander, with the latter being the final goal of his career.
Just one day before his retirement, Van Nistelrooy made his final appearance, coming on as a substitute in the 75th minute for Salomon Rondon, who had scored the only goal in Malaga’s league match against Sporting Gijon.
On 14 May 2012, Van Nistelrooy announced his retirement from football at the age of 35, having previously hinted that Malaga would be his last club.
International Career
Van Nistelrooy was a prominent player for the Dutch national team, earning 70 caps and scoring 35 goals.
He made his debut for the team in 1998 in a friendly match against Germany.
Unfortunately, Van Nistelrooy sustained a cruciate ligament injury that postponed his transfer to Manchester United and ruled him out of Euro 2000.
The Dutch national team failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup, so Van Nistelrooy did not make his tournament debut until Euro 2004.
In Ruud van Nistelrooy biography, we realize that he was one of only two players, along with Milan Baros of the Czech Republic, to score in all three group-stage matches.
The Netherlands reached the semi-finals, where they lost 2-1 to Portugal.
Van Nistelrooy was named to the tournament all-star team.
In a 2006 World Cup qualifying match, Van Nistelrooy scored in the Netherlands’ 4-0 win over Andorra.
He was yellow-carded for celebrating in front of Andorra player Antoni Lima, who had laughed at him six minutes earlier when Van Nistelrooy missed a penalty.
Van Nistelrooy was part of the Dutch squad for the 2006 World Cup finals, serving as the official FIFA/SOS ambassador.
Issues with Van Basten
He started and was substituted in all of the Netherlands’ group-stage matches, scoring his only goal against the Ivory Coast.
However, Van Basten dropped him for the team’s second-round match against Portugal, which eliminated the Netherlands.
Van Basten left Van Nistelrooy out of the squad for a friendly match against the Republic of Ireland in 2006.
Dirk Kuyt replaced Van Nistelrooy in their next match against Portugal in September.
When Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was unavailable for Euro 2008 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Belarus due to injury, Van Nistelrooy refused Van Basten’s request to take his place on the roster.
In 2007, Van Nistelrooy announced his retirement from international football due to continued disputes with Van Basten that had started during the World Cup finals matches in 2006.
However, after some persuasion from veteran goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, both player and coach resolved their differences. Van Basten announced four months later that Van Nistelrooy was returning to the national team.
Van Nistelrooy filled Huntelaar’s spot for a qualifier against Bulgaria, scoring in a 2-0 victory.
Four days later, he scored the winning goal in injury time of the Netherlands’ win over Albania.
Retiring? Maybe?
Van Nistelrooy made an impact in the 2008 European Championship by scoring a crucial goal in the Netherlands’ 3-0 win against Italy in the group stage and equalizing in their 3-1 loss to Russia in the quarter-finals.
However, he announced his retirement from international competition on 4 August of that year.
In the lead-up to the 2010 World Cup, he expressed his willingness to play for the Netherlands again but was not called up by new coach Bert van Marwijk.
After being left out of the World Cup squad, Van Nistelrooy accepted that his international career had come to an end.
Van Nistelrooy was given another chance to represent the Netherlands when the main striker Robin van Persie suffered an injury.
Van Marwijk called him up for two Group E qualification matches for Euro 2012 against San Marino and Finland.
In the 5-0 victory against San Marino on 3 September 2010, Van Nistelrooy scored a goal.
In Ruud van Nistelrooy biography, after several injuries to other strikers, Van Nistelrooy was recalled to the national squad in March 2011 for two Euro 2012 qualification games against Hungary.
He appeared as a substitute in the away game on 25 March and scored his 35th international goal in the return game in Amsterdam four days later.
He said:
“IT WAS WONDERFUL TO BE ABLE TO ADD SOMETHING TO THIS ORANJE TEAM.”
Coaching and Managerial Career
Van Nistelrooy began his coaching career as a coaching intern for the under-17s at PSV on 22 June 2013.
He was later appointed as the new striker coach for the under-17s, under-19s, and the reserve team in February 2016.
He was also set to assist Guus Hiddink after the 2014 World Cup.
Ruud van Nistelrooy biography shows that on 25 June 2018, Van Nistelrooy was promoted to the position of manager for the PSV under-19s team, taking over from Mark van Bommel.
He was also added to Ronald Koeman’s backroom staff as an assistant manager, along with Maarten Stekelenburg, ahead of Euro 2020.
In March 2022, Van Nistelrooy was appointed as the new head coach of PSV, succeeding Roger Schmidt, and signed a three-year contract starting from the 2022-23 season.
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Ruud van Nistelrooy Playing Style
Van Nistelrooy was a highly successful goalscorer known for his clinical finishing and striking abilities, earning him a reputation as one of the best strikers of his generation.
He had exceptional positional sense, quick reactions, and intelligent offensive movement that allowed him to find space in the penalty area and anticipate his opponents’ movements, making him a formidable opponent.
In Ruud van Nistelrooy biography, we see that he was also known for his ability to time his runs, beat the offside trap, and get on the end of his teammates’ passes, leading to him being dubbed a “poacher” by the media.
Van Nistelrooy was a well-rounded center-forward with pace, physical strength, shooting power, technical skills, and the ability to hold up the ball with his back to goal and link up with his teammates due to his excellent reading of the game.
He was also an accurate penalty taker.
However, his controversial behavior, selfishness, and tendency to be overly flamboyant or simulate fouls drew criticism from managers, players, and pundits.
Ruud van Nistelrooy Outside Professional Life
Regarding Ruud van Nistelrooy’s family, he tied the knot with his girlfriend, Leontien Slaats, in July 2004, and the couple have a daughter and a son.
As a Roman Catholic Christian, Van Nistelrooy is actively involved in the charity organization SOS Children’s Villages along with his wife.
He was named the “FIFA for SOS Children’s Villages” Ambassador in the Netherlands on 1 September 2001.
Van Nistelrooy and his wife hosted an event at Ciudad Real Madrid in November 2009 to create a calendar to raise funds for the organization.
Van Nistelrooy was sponsored by Nike and featured in several of their commercials.
In one of their campaigns for the 2002 World Cup, he starred in a “Secret Tournament” commercial directed by Terry Gilliam alongside famous footballers like Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Thierry Henry.
During the 2014 World Cup, he worked as a studio analyst for ESPN.
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